Diet: Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Pescatarian
Serves: 2
Total Time: 10 minutes

Description

I think eating a salad should never feel like a chore, and Asian flavours are a fantastic way to give life to what may initially feel like a plain and simple dish. This Asian prawn salad combines some amazing ingredients that are both delicious and nutritious:

• Prawns – a shrimp-like shellfish that is high in protein and low in calories. Many do not realise that prawns are in fact a great source of omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 fats are essential to obtain in the diet because our bodies cannot manufacture them. Studies have linked omega 3s with mood and brain health, due to their role in regulating serotonin levels (Patrick et al. 2015) (Hibbeln, 1998) (Beydoun et al. 2013).
• Edamame beans – edamame beans are young soy beans that have been harvested before they have hardened or ripened. Much controversy surrounds soy, due to studies branding it as either harmful or conversely, a beneficial food for health. Most of this debate is due to an estrogenic-like compound called soy isoflavone, which mimics oestrogen in the body. If you want to learn more of my thoughts on this topic, read my blog article on soy here. Though, to summarise this, whilst everybody has unique nutritional requirements, I do believe soy can be incorporated as part of an inclusive, whole foods diet, if eaten in moderation and from the correct source (i.e. organic and fermented).
• Japanese ginger – a key ingredient in many Asian dishes, japanese ginger, also known as gari, works as a palate cleanser. This works by resetting the taste buds so that they do not get desensitised to the flavour, meaning you can enjoy this dish with the experience that each bite is new and flavoursome.

So there you have it. A high protein meal that packs a lot of taste and nutrition. What more could you ask for?

Ingredients

Salad

• 200g prawns
• 120g edamame beans
• 100g bean sprouts
• 1/2 radicchio, finely chopped
• 25g pickled Japanese ginger, drained and finely chopped
• 20g basil, chopped
• 20g coriander, chopped
• 1/2 red chilli, sliced into very fine rings
• 4 spring onions, finely sliced
• 100g toasted peanuts

Dressing

• Juice of 2 limes
• 1 tsp raw honey
• 1 garlic clove, crushed and diced
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp wasabi

Method

1. Add all of the salad ingredients into a large bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, use a fork to whisk the lime juice, honey, rice wine vinegar, sesame and olive oil with the wasabi and garlic.
3. Once thoroughly whisked, pour the dressing into the salad bowl and mix thoroughly.
4. Serve into bowls and enjoy with chop sticks!

 

References:

Beydoun, H.A. Kuczmarski, M.T.F. Hind, A. et al. (2013). ‘Omega-3 Fatty Acid Intakes Are Inversely Related to Elevated Depressive Symptoms Among United States Women’, The Journal of Nutrition, 143 (11), pp. 1743–1752, Oxford Academic [Online]. Available at: https://academic.oup.com/jn/article/143/11/1743/4571718?searchresult=1 (Accessed: 1 August 2018).

Hibbeln, J.R. (1998). ‘Fish Consumption and Major Depression’, Lancet, 18 (351), pp. 1213-1214, NCBI [Online]. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9643729 (Accessed: 1 August 2018).

Patrick, R.P. and Ames, B.N. (2015). ‘Vitamin D and the Omega-3 Fatty Acids Control Serotonin Synthesis and Action, Part 2: Relevance for ADHD, Bipolar disorder, Schizophrenia, and Impulsive Behavior,’ Haematologica, 29 (6), pp. 2207-2222, NCBI [Online]. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25713056 (Accessed: 1 August 2018).